Don’t Be Foolish – Avoid Controversies & Quarrels, In & Out Of The Church
Word of the Day: ‘(9) But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. (10) Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. (11) You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.‘ (Titus 3:9-11)
With recent events unfolding, there are many examples of foolishness regarding the enforcement of laws and what is thought to be ‘legal’ versus what is actually ‘illegal’. The unfortunate events in Minneapolis this week saw a young woman killed after she made the decision to intervene between federal law enforcement officials and illegal immigrants, blocking the street with her car, and when told by those law enforcement officials at first to move, then failing to move was about to be arrested deciding to flee hitting one of the officials. The official that was struck fired his weapon to stop her from using her car as a weapon, and killed her.
This is not a discussion on whether the shooting was appropriate or not, as this is being played out in the media and the government publicly. But this is a good illustration of Paul’s writing to Titus, which is imploring Titus (and those in Titus’ circle who fellowship on the island of Crete) to do good and righteously represent Jesus and His Gospel.
The young lady in question placed herself into the situation due to her belief and mindset that she had to impede law enforcement and place herself into a position that risked confrontation. Many have the belief that illegal immigrants aren’t really illegal, and perhaps some who are reading this post may have the same belief. However, she foolishly involved herself into the situation instead of avoiding direct physical confrontation. Unfortunately, politicians on both sides of the argument have increased the rhetoric to flame the controversy instead of trying to calm the people down.
Can a Christian be involved in political debate and discussions? We certainly can, but we must do so while maintaining our representation of Christ. I’ve mentioned before that illegal immigrants need to be treated with respect and with Godly love, but they also have broken the law and need to pay the consequences of breaking the law, namely be deported from the US and seek to return legally. There are Christians who likely disagree with me on this, but to argue and take foolish actions – on both sides of this and other controversies – serves no one and does not serve God.
The Pastor, in his first Wednesday Bible Study of the year, stated ‘there are Christians who spread the Seed (of the Gospel message of Christ), and those who spread ‘Round-up’. While there is a time to use ‘vegetation-killer’, it needs to be used properly. You don’t want to use on your manicured green lawn or on your manicured shrubs, and you certainly don’t want to use it on your freshly-seeded plowed garden. Nor do you want someone to come behind you and spray ‘veggie-poison’ on your lawn or garden.
For the Christian, while it is normal to have opinions on societal, political and even some Biblically-doctrinal issues (like dinosaurs or the timing of the Rapture), we have to be careful when we discuss these opinions to be Righteous and avoid getting belligerent. We must standfast on the Truth and the facts of the Bible, but when in disagreement we must be civil and be ready to ‘agree to disagree’ and move on. This is especially true when we are witnessing to someone who is lost and unknowing of Christ.
Recently, as is my custom with those who I encounter, I asked a young lady if I could pray for her. She thought for a moment, then asked if I could pray to have the Lord allow her to conceive. I then asked the question (to gain clarity) if she and her husband were ready for this, and she responded, ‘well, my boyfriend and I are.’
I didn’t condemn her or belittle her, but I prayed that the Lord provide her and her boyfriend proper order in their lives first, to have Him work in their lives, and then bless them with a child. To simply proclaim ‘you need to get married first’ may have closed the door toward her receiving the Gospel message, from me or others. My prayer instead allowed her to hear the Truth without harsh confrontation. (It is hoped it gave her pause to think about it.)
We don’t want to set people up for failure but for success. The media and many politicians, again on both sides, ramp up the rhetoric on hot topics that can turn people away from Righteousness and toward ‘warped and sinful’ actions, as the young lady in Minneapolis unfortunately fell into. The foolishness of her actions and the rhetoric of those who pushed her into taking such actions took her life away and a mother away from her children. We don’t want to do that to those who don’t know Jesus; we want to set them up for success in receiving Salvation – we don’t have to agree with them or give in to their ways but we must be steadfast in the Truth.
